Rochester Hills, MI — Another year, and yet another victory against cross-town "rival" Rochester High School... The defining numbers for the week are 28 and 0. The final score in this week's contest was 28-0 in favor of the Highlanders, which coincidentally matches the win-loss record that Rochester Adams has achieved in as many consecutive games against their Falcon foes. The remarkable accomplishment highlights the level of commitment and consistency that have defined the Adams football program led by coach Patritto and his staff for decades. With the streak on the line, the pressure and intensity were elevated by a festive road-game environment with seemingly the majority of Rochester and Rochester Hills residents in attendance. Whether it was the crowd or the stiff Northern breeze that cooled the Adams early offensive motor, it took a bit more time than anticipated for the first points to be put on the board. Adams took the opening kick and proceeded to go four and out against the Falcons staunch first-quarter defense. The Highlanders, however, also yielded little ground for the Falcons to make offensive progress with the opening drive ending with a Matteo Humbert sack. This would be the first of many tackles behind the line of scrimmage throughout the evening. Humbert, Beccari, and Szymanski aggressively attacked the Rochester offensive front all night with each tallying sacks during the game. It took until the 4:10 mark of the second quarter for the Highlanders to start the scoring. The first scoring drive was enabled by a timely punt block by Dom Becarri resulting in a starting field position on the Rochester 35 yard-line. While quarterback Rino Watters was on point in the first half with multiple 20+ yard passing plays to Humbert and Offer, it was his legs that did most of the scoring damage all night. A big 3rd and 3 conversion enabled the brown and gold to reach the 1 yard-line which was followed up by a Watters push to the goal for 6. Senior kicker Daniel Seymour, who was perfect all night, would put the extra point cap on the drive making it 7-0. The Adams defense was impenetrable throughout the game yielding little on the ground or through the air. With 15 seconds left in the half, safety Paxton Battershell stalled the final Rochester second quarter drive with an interception. A nice 12-yard completion from Waters to Nolan Farris for 14 yards was followed up by a sack to end the half with the Highlanders on top 7-0. As is routinely the case, Patritto and his staff were able to make intelligent halftime adjustments to get the offense going. Committing to the ground game and utilizing their difficult to diagnose veer offensive advantage was the clear second half game plan. With the Rochester offense continuing to sputter behind their Freshman quarterback, the Highlanders were able to take advantage of a short punt with a starting field position on the Rochester 29. The first score of the second half was enabled by a steady dose of "Rino Right" behind the road grading push from right tackle Rowan Kawa and guard Henry Hittle. Watters was able to scamper in for his second touchdown making it 13-0 and giving Adams a bit more breathing room. Again, Seymour was able to split the uprights for the extra point. The third quarter, which ended in a closer than expected score of 14-0, was highlighted by a continuously stout Adams defense with more timely tackles by Liam Kania, Dom Beccari, Tommy Offer, and Matteo Humbert. It wasn't until the final period that Rochester Adams was able to finally open up a comfortable lead that would never be relinquished. Short passes from Watters to sure handed receivers Lachlan Tillotson and Tommy Offer mixed in with more of the ground game resulted in the third Adams touchdown by Watters from 6 yards out making it 21-0. Midway through the fourth, Adams continued to stifle the Falcon offense with sacks by Beccari and Szymanski leading to a turnover on downs and great starting field position on the Rochester 30 yard-line. Hard ball-hauling by Humbert resulted in the fourth and final touchdown as he bullied his way into the end zone for a 28-point lead. It was a full team effort both offensively and defensively with additional contributions from Cam Dawood (tackle), Jesse Geottes (tackle), Sam Hollenbeck (reception), and others. The clock expired after a final defensive stop by Matt Toeppner sending the feisty and disappointed Rochester home crowd home with their 28th consecutive loss to the Highlanders...which is truly incredible. Adams will return home next week to start a 3-game gauntlet against West Bloomfield, Clarkston, and Lake Orion. West Bloomfield will undoubtedly be looking to bounce back after their surprising week 2 loss to Birmingham Groves. Coach Patritto will surely have the Adams squad ready to go, but it will take a full team effort to keep their record unblemished.